1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a waste compression apparatus and specifically to an apparatus for compacting plastic, paper, and metal containers or bottles.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Several patents disclose devices used for the reduction of packaging waste. Of particular interest here is U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,057 issued to William H. Ellis, III on Apr. 7, 1992. Ellis discloses a plurality of tapered cylinders having pointed teeth to grip plastic waste. If the pointed teeth successfully grip the plastic waste, then the plastic waste can be compressed by the converging orientation of the plurality of tapered cylinders.
The apparatus disclosed in Ellis presents significant problems concerning the safety of the user and efficiency of the device in compressing plastic. Assume the apparatus in Ellis is used to compress a typical plastic container found in a household. If the plastic container is relatively hard or large as with certain household packaging, then the rotating teeth disclosed in Ellis may be unable to grip the plastic container unless a downward force is applied to the plastic container. If the user must manually apply downward force to the plastic container for proper operation, then the user could be injured by the rotating teeth. Moreover, because Ellis discloses a safety switch which prevents the teeth from rotating when a lid is open, the Ellis machine may be rendered inoperable under certain circumstances.
The plastic compressing apparatus disclosed in Ellis also presents problems of potential down-time. A plastic container to be compressed may bind the rotational movement of the plurality of tapered cylinders and cause the belt to slip. The user must then stop compressing apparatus and remove the object from the tapered cylinders. This again presents a dangerous situation for the user. Thus, operation of the plastic compressing apparatus disclosed in Ellis can be time-consuming, frustrating, and unsafe for the user.